Tube filling and tamping machine



T. A. EDISON.

TUBE FILLING AND TAMPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. 19H5.

Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I vll C0.. WASHING T. A. EDISON.

TUBE FILLING AND TANIPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION msn MAR. s. |916.

1,31 1,955. Patented Aug. 5,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEEI' 2.

Tur! COLUMBIA PLANmllmPll co.. WASHINGTON l) L l. A. EDISON.

TUBE FILLING AND TAMPING MACHINE.

APPucATloN mso MAH. o. 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE. f

THOMAs A. EDISON, or LLEWELLYN PAEK,wEsT OEANGE, NEW'JEESEY, AssIGNOE To EDISON STORAGE BATTERY COMPANY, or WEST ORANGE, ,NEWy JEEsEY, A COE- PORATION `01"' NEW JERSEY.

TUBE FILLING AND TAMPING yMACHINE.

Original-application led August 31, 1914, Serial No 859,362.

Specification of Letters Patent.

(Patent No. 1,198,426, `dated September 19,.

Patented Ang. 5, 1919.

1916.) Divided and this applicaton led'March 6, 1916. Serial No. 82,376. v

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS A IEDIsoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resldent of Llewellyn Park, West Orange, Essex county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Tube Filling vand Tamping ,Machines of which thefollowing is a descriptlon.

This application is a division` of my co- `pending application Serial No. 859,362,

' filed August 31, 1914, and entitled Production of electrode elements, on which Patent No.` 1,198,426 was granted September '19th, 1916, the latter application being in turn a division of my application Ser1al No. 567,371, filed` June 17, 1910, and entltled Electrode elements, and on which Patent No. 1,115,463 was, granted on October 27, 1914. Patent No. 1,115,463- conta1ns` cla1.ms on` an electrode element and applicatlon SerialI No. 859,362 contains claims on the 'processl of forming and 'producing such 'i electrode'element.

The presentfinvention relates `to an improved ltube filling and tampmg machine or apparatus, andespecially to an apparatus vfor forming itheelectr'ode element claimed in Patent No. 1,115,463 by the process foriningthe subject matter of application Serial No. 859,362. My invention is 1n some as- `pects an improvement upon the/tube filling "and tamping machine disclosed in my Letters Patent No. 936,433, granted October My improved machine or apparatus has been designed and perfected .particularly for thepurpose of carrying on in an improved manner the automatic 'filling land 'tampingof active material `into small perforated Vtubes, the ends of which are adapt- `edv to' besubsequently closed, after which a number of such tubes willlbe mounted in a`y suitable grid to constitute a storage batteryI electrode, as described in some of my previous patents. VIt will be understood,

however, that `the invention maybe. used 4for other purposes.-

My inventionis" chiefiy directed to improvements in a machine orapparatus adapted: `for the production of an improved electrodey element, comprising a perforated p tubular pocket containing alternate layers of 4active material andy conductive 4material contained therein under high pressure, some of the partlcular improvements` resldlngl 1n the means for loading the active; material in lthe tube and in the imeans 'for'.applying .pressure to the` material1 in the tubeyby tamplng.` Itj is desirable to f compressthe material `within `the tube adjacent to the walls `of the same at `least as highlyasiin the center. of the tube, toobtain ir'm contact betweenr the layers of yco'nductivefmater1alyandl the walls of the tube, andto .uniformly distribute` the ,materials within the tube. Consequently, my inventionc'om-y prises an apparatus `for loading i and. tamp- .ing the material within the tubular pocket 1n such a manner as toformanelectrode element having the desired' characteristics.

Otherobjects of my inventionwill appear,

in the followingl specification and appended claims.' .i ,A W w It is yextremely important that the `active materialand conductive ,material of `the electrode element should be contained Within 'tive metal. Thevapparatus comprising the,

present invention is adapted toi load the tubesv by feeding alternately smalldncrements of active material, as nickel'hydroxid, and a, conductivey material, 4 as nickel `iiake,

into the tube', `and compressing the'` same preferably by' delivering f a tamping` blow upon the material inthe tube after each alternate charge. I v'have' found that 'the best `results are obtainedby Vimparting a rotating or centrifugal motion to the active material` as it isffed linto the upper end of ithe tube, so` that as it begins'to` fall `into the tube, it is in the formof a rotatingor swirling ring-or hollow cylinder closely adshould be `uniformly L jacent to the inner walls of the tube.` `Some i l of this material is deflected toward -thecenter of the tube by contact with .the inner walls thereof, but Va considerable portion ,falls adjacent to the walls ofthe tube so that a layer` of quite uniform tbicknessis thus forined 1n the tube. Furthermore,

,.pllmger .which operated `to deliver,..tamp, ingblows upon'the materialfafte'r each incre-v4 ."Inent 'of 'Conductive' material"has been fed therein, yis formed with a tamping face which is preferably hollow-edoutin a Cunved y form at the center, and which is so formeel-` as., ,.tQ first .Strike the matefel .in the.. telve-1k at some distance from'the center.Y The tamp- 'ling fiiac'ev of"theYupl'u'nger-` 'alsofpreferably slopes away 4-lrmn the portion lastdescribed' to the outside edge, the result being that 'the materia' is f more" Itightlyvi compressed "nearf'the'edge thanin the 'center of the 'tube,' and the material 'adjacent to :the: walls 'f rof the'tube is forced into rni Contact with YVthe'ilatter by the sloping portionjof the tampi ing 'face'. Bythisfmeans, firm contactI of vthelniokel Iflake adjacent to. the walls Yof 20 :ther-tubexwith theidtter and with the active and-conductive material 'are also Acon'lpressed iin--a'fbentjor wavyfform 'by this action, S0 that 'the yarea. of 'Contactl between the same .Y In orderthat a clear understanding of my 'invention may 'b e had, attention is ydirected Ito thev accompany-ing drawings forming part oftfhis,specification, and illustrating'one Y 's form of 4apparatus accordance` with vthis 'invention-by V4which-the, improved' process claimed in my applicationV SerialfNo.

"859,362 may *be 'carried lout,"y and valso' illustrating 'the improved* electrode "element *formed-thereby. l 'I Il 'In the'dr'awings- Figure 1 represents ,a vertical'partial lcross ,section through a tubev illin'g and -camping machine'embodying'my finven'tion, someV of 4 the partsfbeing shown side elevation.

Fig'. 2repr e'sents` a partial cross section 'taken online"E 2-42 Fin Fig, 1', someoffthe "parte being'show'ninside elevation.l

Figiv represents lthe-v improved tainping v-'iilliggerf' employed in lthe machine' illustrated insideelevation l 'j`F-ig. lis enlarged longitudinal lcross ysection"ofthelowerend ofthe same.

1- 5 is a bottom plan. viewfof y'the same f'drawnlto Athe'sam'e'scale jas'fFig.-4.

Fig.2 6 is lan enlarged detail, partly'rin' side elevatirni and v partlyin section, 0fl the -O- .tatinghopper shown in Fig l.Y e

'f Fig. isa bottom plan yiew thewsame;

l Fig'. st-is' a partial ingimdimi messec- "t-ion throughV an electrode element produced y byI my improvedmachine,"z -l f vThe perforated metal tubular' pocket '1" is Ysnpporte'd in a vertical position within the holder'oritubesupport2, theme'mber 3 extendin'g' upwadlyn'a slight distance 'into the lower end lof the Atube "tov-'form aisuipport for 'thematerial to be'loa'ded therein. Theactive' material "4', :which preferably l contains l,divided nickel hydroxid, contained within. a hopper k5, andthe conductivev matej l' 6, which preferably felectrolytically "wardly from yliopper'if? into the 'upper end of tube 1 pintju'st below thelower Vrend of hopper 13'.v The chargesl of nickel flake or conductivemate'rial are fed into the tube by -mea'l'isoflslide orca'rrier720 which is reciprocatedfwithil'i 'guides 21 by connectionwith Y -link`22f`which is connected to crank 23 which is pivoted onshaft :Link 22 is pinned to :crank 23 atl2'5 and this point' revolves about -centerf26, reciprocating the slide'20 as deiscribed. p f Tampi'ng plunger 27 extends {through'fthecenter 'of hopper 13 andV is lifted bymeans of ratchet-wheel 28 upon shaft l29' which coa'ctsfwith I"ratchet teeth 30 formed -upo'n fslide 31connected tothe 'upperfend of "plungerj27yto lifttheflatter and. allow it to :fall successively within tube 1`1to ydeliver tamping blows'upon the material in the tube. `It will be understood that? rsta charge of active materiall is introduced intotlie tube,`

ythen va charge.: of conductive material, yafter which' the plungeris voperated;*toicompress the material ywithin the tube, andthe-cycle of opera-tionl is continued until the :tubeI is filled', a complete "machine" embracingr fa plu- 1 Y "rali-'ty of vsimil'arparts for fillinga plurality l of tubes at Vthe same time `preferably being employed-'although only one tube and ap paratus for' filling the same are illustrated lfor simplicity. n'

imparting `a rotary; -for 'centrifugal motion Yto the nickel vhydroxid "or active material justV before enters-thetube '1. vThe hopper u13 comprises `and through which the tampinggplunger27 passes;L Tube: 32- has kan enlarged lower por-Y tion fitted" intofaA sleeve 113"'1(1seefFig: 6)V which forms 'the' eXternal. wall' of v the hopper and'whic'h has anupperedge yportion iared i v'outwardly and alower converging edge por-V tion. On the exterior oft-he-fenlargedlower /portion'of the) tube 32 there are provided a number, 'preferably-two', of pairs 'of' channels or'grooves'"39' convergingdownwardly Vinto 'v 4'verticalchannelsorjgrooves 38: :The tube'32 h as secured upon thefupperiend tiiereof'la 'worm i wheel 33 'which ineslieswlth worm' 34' carried upon `shaft 35 which also'carriessprocket `wheel'which is driven by sprocket chain 37, the-latter being driven from a' sprocket wheel carried lby shaft 29 as shown.'y The result of this construction is that when an "increment of'active ymaterial isdelivered by `tubes 12'into the'upper end of rotating hopl per 13, thel finely divided active material falls through `channels 39 into'channels 38 l04 it the rotary motion of hopper 13 and falls from lthe lower end of `the hopper in 'a `swirlingform asf shown at ',40'in'vFig. 2, falling into the V-shaped hopper or chute j 41 c'a'rriedby plate 42, which'chute guides within'hopper 13 where it has imparted to the active material1 in the form ot a rotating annulusintthe upper end of tube 1. Preferably, two tubes l2are provlded for carrying active material from `each carrier 8 to each-rotatingfhopper 13,* the capacity of the tubes and the channelsK 38 in the hopper"l3 `being properly" proportioned" to carry the desired amount of material in a charge. Immediatel after the rotating charge of active materlal has been dumped into the tube as described, a charge of nickel flake is dumped on top of the same b means of carrier or slide 20, and plunger 2 which has been raised, is immediately released to deliver a tamping blow upon the same. The

,nickel flake may be agitated in the lower end of chute 19 by means of rotating agitator 43 which is rotated by any suitable means, as by sprocket chain 44, which passes over sprocket Wheel 45 upon shaft 46.

Tamping plunger 27 is preferably provided upon its tamping face with a circular central recess 47 concentric with the axis of the plunger. Surrounding the cavity of recess 47 is a flat annular portion 48 and surrounding the latter and extending to the outer edge of the tamping face is a'surface 49 which slopes slightly back or upwardly. The result of this construction is that when the plunger descends u on the material in the tube, the latter will e most tightly compressed under the annular portion 48 of the plunger, the material in the tube being curved upwardly slightly at the center because of the curved surface 47 of the tamp, the material in the tube being also bent slightly upward between the portion 48 of the tamp and the outside edge of the same by sloping surface 49, which also serves to force the material by a wedging action into firm Contact with the inside wall of the tube. When next the tamp descends after charges of nickel flake and hydroxid have been fed into the tube, the latter will have filled the tube substantially to the same level, that is, the material which has fallen upon the high central point will have run down to a considerable extent into the hollow formed by portion 48 ofthe tamping face, so that the material under surface 48 of the tamping face will again be highly compressed upon the fall of the tamping plunger andthe material adjacent to the wall ofthe tube again forced into firmcontact thercwithand bent slightlyalp- .wardly'by sloping surface 49 of thetamping face.` The result ofy ythis action is to-form valternate layers of activeandconductive fthelayers arefbent' slightly upwardly adjacent the-sides of the tube `1, as shown: `at 52, land"` curved 'slightly' upwardly in the centhat the material istightly compressed adjacent to `theiwalls ofthe tube and that the nickel flake forms good contact with the quite so tightly compressed in the center of the tube as adjacent the edges.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is as follows 1. In a tube filling machine, the combination with a tube support, of means for feeding material to a tube held in the same, and means for giving a centrifugal motion to said material as it enters said tube, substantially as described.

2. In a tube filling machine, the combination with a tube support, of a hopper having an open lower end positioned above a tube held in `said support and adapted to discharge thereinto, means for successively feeding increments of material into Said hopper, and means for rotating said hopper during they passage of material therethrough, substantially as described.

3. In a tube filling machine, the combination with a tube support, of a rotatably mounted hopper having a channel spaced apart from its axis of rotation, means for feeding material into the upper end of said channel, and means for rotating said hopper during the passage of material through said channel, substantially as described.

4. In a tube filling and tamping machine, the combination with a tube support, of means for feeding finely divided active material and conductive material in successive alternate increments into said tube, and mechanism for automatically applying a tamping pressure to the material in Said tube, said mechanism having means for bending the layers of material in said tube upwardly adjacent to the inside walls of the tube into contact therewith, substantially as described.

5. In a tube filling and tamping machine, the combination with a tube support, of

means for :feedingnely ydivided'.act-ive and .conductive material n ysuccessive alternate .rnclrements int-0. seid-tube, and mechanism for automatically applying atampng pessurefto.` the. material in sadftuibe, said meehensrn having means ffer eompre'ssng elle ma- `fte1fal to a .;g1eate1" extent adjacent te :the `Walls. `ofV the tnbethan 'in thegeenter thereof Y and for' forenglthe edges-'ei the lgayel'swof material inte firm eontaetwth the Walls 'of .the ztube, substantially as described.

.6. In a tube 1j-lluujgandtwill-ping machine, a tantqlng plunger, "the .tamping aee ,of Whiehls Vomed with a central -OHIYed Cav- ;ty and an annular surface yserrm1-ndng .said `cavity, substantially as described.v

. v 7. Ina tube, filling 1and tampngmaehne,

a tamping plunger having aeireular cross Y sectonrand hav-ing a tar-11p111gk VJface provided with a eentralereular recess, 'and an annu- A Ylas-12 ,-smfface surrounding" yand sloping Janvay /fiOm .smc

s Y Arecess .tdward'the perlphjenyoi 'the ace,xsubstant1ally asdeseribzed... 4 1 '.8. In a'-tu-be illingemeehn@ means for nnlns las. -ttxenters-.sald mbe., 'Substantially as *descibed-.u 1

9'. ln ,a1-tube machine,

slepngbaekwardly lfrom,the.cent1-al p01'- Vtion eisaid `Jface, Lsnlestarsltal'ly .as described.

\ This speeieation-,sgned and witnessed 

